Shepherd

Last week my good friend Michael Newnham wrote a blog post on his site about what Christians look for in a Pastor. Since this topic is near and dear to me I was interested in what others thought about this subject.

Here are the biblical requirements for the office of Pastor.

1 Timothy 3:1-7

This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

No, I haven’t flipped and gone King James Only it was what appeared when I opened up my E-Sword.

The requirements are stiff and for a reason; God didn’t want just anyone leading his flock of sheep so He made sure to leave a strict set of guidelines for us to follow.

The problem today, and probably an age old one, is that folks forget about the Good Book and what God really wants and do whatever they like.

When the Pastor falls or the sheep get trampled people shake their heads and wonder why. A simple look at the life alongside those requirements would probably eliminate much of this foolishness.

I think that’s why I’m so careful about where I worship and who I serve with. I’ve seen too many instances of folks getting carried away and acting more like Kings of a kingdom. I have no plans on paying tribute to anyone other than Jesus.

I’ve also seen plenty of folks get trampled and I don’t have any desire to get run over by anyone and especially not in a place where I’m there to serve.

So, I have a list of things I look for in a Pastor and on this weeks Calvin’s Corner I shared most of it with my co-host Pastor Michael Newnham. I’ll leave the player below otherwise use the link just above the player to download it to your portable listening device.

On this edition of Calvin’s Corner Pastor Michael Newnham and Phil Naessens attempt to discuss the age old question; is Jesus enough to fix all our troubles and cure all our diseases? DOWNLOAD Advertisements

On this edition of Calvin’s Corner Pastor Michael Newnham and Phil Naessens discuss how the highs and lows of sports fandom sometimes resemble the highs and lows in the life of a Christian and the sad case of Mexican reporter Emilio Gutierrez and his fight for asylum in America. If Gutierrez is deported he might […]

On this edition of Calvin’s Corner Pastor Michael Newnham and Phil Naessens discuss Phil deactivating his Facebook account, the Book of Job and if the NFL has become unwatchable due to all the injuries plus much more!! DOWNLOAD